


we go home together

by spectrespecs



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Blow Jobs, Dirty Talk, Frottage, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Leon is bad with feelings, M/M, Phone Sex, Post-Rose Tower Battle, Raihan is supportive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22329517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spectrespecs/pseuds/spectrespecs
Summary: Leon is directionless in more ways than one. Raihan is there at every turn to help.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 261





	we go home together

**Author's Note:**

> Set right after the Eternatus battle at Rose Tower. I moved a few things around that happen in the post-game to fit with what I wanted to do with the story, mainly that Leon doesn’t fix Rose Tower until after everything with Zacian and Zamazenta.
> 
> This is my first foray into Pokémon fic, and I'm really excited about it!! I was not ready for how Raihan and Leon would come for me like this.
> 
> Title from ["We Go Home Together"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-7wzb7sRg8) by Mount Kimble & James Blake.

Leon doesn’t want to open his eyes once he wakes up, trying to shield himself from the light of whatever room he’s currently in and stealing a few more moments away from dealing with the world. It doesn’t trickle back to him, rather, the memories of what happened at Rose Tower crash back onto him with the force of the Pokéball that he tried to capture Eternatus in. He had trusted Chairman Rose, he had gone along with Chairman Rose’s plan, truly believing it was for the good of Galar, but that had all been a lie. Leon’s chest feels tight, thinking about what his family will say—what the people of Galar will say about his part in the failed plan. He had been trying to right the situation at the end when Hop and his friend showed up, but would anyone care. 

There’s a sound of movement to his left, and Leon supposes he’s likely lying in a bed somewhere—probably Wyndon Hospital—and that his mother is undoubtedly waiting for her eldest son to wake up. Leon realizes he doesn’t actually know how long he’s been passed out, but the fact that he made it all the way to a hospital bed probably means it’s been a while.

When Leon opens his eyes slowly and turns towards the noise he heard, he’s surprised to see not his mum, not Hop, but rather, Raihan. He is asleep in a chair with his long legs stretched out in front of him and propped up on another chair. He doesn’t look comfortable, as if he could slip and fall at any moment. 

“Rai—” Leon starts to speak, but his throat is dry and the name gets stuck. He starts coughing, which rouses Raihan from his nap.

“Hey, hey, champ, take it easy,” Raihan doesn’t hesitate, jumping up from the chair and coming over to the side of Leon’s bed. Leon isn’t sure where the glass of water in Raihan’s hand appears from, but Leon takes it thankfully, sitting up so he can drink. Warmth spreads at Leon’s back where Raihan rests his hand. 

After a few slow drinks, Leon feels like he can speak again. “Hey, Raihan,” Leon’s voice sounds small, a quiet tone lacking his usual enthusiasm. Few people have ever heard it before, and one who has is currently rubbing his large hand that spans most of Leon’s back up and down comfortingly. 

“I would ask how you’re feeling, but…” Raihan trails off. “I think I can guess.”

Leon turns to put the glass down on the bedside table, but Raihan takes it from his hand first, removing the hand that had been on Leon’s back. He yearns for that touch to return, but he’s so wanting of anything that Leon accepts the small brush of fingers to satiate him for now. “What happened?” Leon asks.

“Budge up,” Raihan nods at the space next to Leon on the bed, and Leon complies, shifting to open up more room. Raihan sits down at an angle to face Leon on the edge of the bed, his tall and lean body managing to lounge comfortably in the small space. “Well, the short answer, from what I hear, is that you got real banged up by whatever happened on Rose Tower. Tried to capture an alien Pokémon in a regular ball?” Raihan raises an eyebrow, and Leon looks down at the blanket covering his legs. He’s still wearing the clothes he was at the Tower, minus his cape. His hat is also sitting on the bedside table. “Hop said he’d never seen you so scared,” Raihan adds quietly. Leon remembers the moment he could tell things weren’t going to go the way he hoped, turning around and throwing an arm out at his brother and his brother’s friend. Leon wanted to hide his emotions, make sure the young trainers wouldn’t worry. But all he managed was a frenzied look towards them, and Charizard knew what Leon was feeling. The last thing Leon remembers seeing before everything went dark was Charizard protecting the kids and then a bright light.

“I fucked up,” Leon breathes out. 

“You did,” Raihan says flatly. 

He had always been blunt, ever since they were children. One time when they were in school, just before setting out on the Gym Challenge, other kids had been making fun of Sonia for her love of the tales of old about Galar’s history. Raihan had turned to them and said they should train and get better if they’re so jealous of her being endorsed and going on the gym challenge. He had cut right to the heart of the matter, not skirting around the fact why the kids were being so cruel. That had shut them up.

“But,” Raihan presses on, “you tried to fix it.”

“Is that even going to matter?” Leon asks. “I’m the Champion, and I almost helped Rose destroy Galar.”

“But that’s it,” Raihan smiles, his small, fanged tooth sticking out. “You’re Champion, and the people of Galar are kind and forgiving. Rose already turned himself in and takes full credit for his whole scheme. He had just roped you in, exploited your trust.”

“But I trusted him, blindly, I helped,” Leon’s voice cracks on the last word.

“Hey,” Raihan shifts to move closer to Leon, placing a hand on his shoulder that slowly slides up to loosely hold his neck. “Look at me,” Raihan requests softly, and Leon follows, looking into those blue eyes. “Stop being so hard on yourself, just once.”

But Leon _couldn’t_ , he didn’t know _how_ to simply just be happy with himself. To feel okay about everything. It just is not who he is. He’s Leon, the Champion—for ten years, it’s his title—and with it comes the burden of expectation, and now it feels like Leon has wrecked all of it. But then, with sudden clarity, it becomes apparent to him. “I need to battle.”

“Of course you do,” Raihan sighs. “I’m all for your battling, I am, but I think people will understand if you want to put off the Final Championship match right now.”

“Raihan,” Leon grabs his arm, tugging him closer. Raihan never really felt like a rival, just like Sonia never felt like it when they did the Gym Challenge together. And in the same way Hop referred to his friend as a rival. There was no animosity, there was no bad blood, there was just a friendly amount of jabbing over who would be the best. Leon had spent the last few years dreaming of what it would be like to finally lose to Raihan one day. “I need this.”

Raihan studies Leon’s face, and the depth of that gaze makes Leon feel exposed, flayed wide open. “Okay,” Raihan whispers.

The door to the hospital room opens with a soft whoosh and Leon’s mother walks in with Hop trailing behind, his younger brother looking a different type of wide-eyed than usual. Hop always had excitement and wonder that he could barely contain, but right now his eyes darted around the room with worry. “Lee!,” he yells when his eyes finally land on Leon. “You’re awake!” He darts away from behind their mum to stand by Leon’s bed. 

Raihan gets up off the bed, and Leon misses his presence immediately. “He sure is,” Raihan smiles at Hop and reaches his long arm over to ruffle the boy’s hair. “I’ll leave you to get caught up.” With that Raihan gives a nod to Leon and Hop’s mother and waves one last time before exiting the room.

“Hi Mum,” Leon smiles as she comes over to take up the space on the bed where Raihan had been. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Leon,” she runs her hand through his hair in the same calming way she used to when he was a child, how she still does to Hop sometimes. 

“Still,” Leon tries to argue.

“You’re okay, you helped save Galar,” his mum smiles, concern at the edge of her eyes. He feels sick about making his mum, his wonderful supportive mother, go through this. 

Leon pulls his arm around her for a hug, and she lets out a small gasp of surprise before chuckling softly. Hop jumps in to throw his arms around his family. “Love you,” his brother’s voice is small and muffled, the words are spoken into Leon’s shoulder. Leon holds onto both of them tightly.

⊝⊝⊝

Maybe he should have waited. Maybe Leon should have listened to the concern in his mother’s voice, and the talk from Raihan about just taking a break for a while. But Leon is—was—Galar’s Champion, and he needed to help restore as much balance for the citizens as possible after Rose almost doomed them all. He was determined to hold the Championship battle. And he did. And after ten years, Leon lost. It wasn’t to Raihan. It wasn’t to any other Gym Leader. It wasn’t to Hop. Leon lost to Hop’s friend, and the kid deserved it. They had one of the best battles that Leon could only compare maybe to a few of the ones he’s had with Raihan, but this time he lost. 

Leon is sitting in the locker room of Wyndon Gym on one of the pieces of exercise equipment. He’d initially sat down on it to work off some excess energy he had from the battle, not realizing that losing would key him up in such a way. But instead of working out as he’d thought, Leon had collapsed back, pulling down his hat to cover his face, taking deep breaths. 

He felt like he was suffocating, losing everything he’d known in such a short span of time. He knew it wouldn’t last forever, but, fuck, he didn’t think it would happen like this. 

Someone walks into the room, and Leon assumes it’s one of the gym employees. He sits up quickly to wipe his face and school his features to the Champion smile he’s perfected over the years. But once returns the hat to his head, he sees it’s not anyone from the Wyndon Gym. 

“Hey,” Raihan greets before sitting down on the bench across from Leon. 

“How’s it going, Raihan,” Leon keeps smiling despite the urge to deflate. “Great match today.”

“You don’t have to pretend with me,” Raihan says simply. His face shows no emotion. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Leon doesn’t let his face falter. 

“Leon,” Raihan sounds almost pained. And that’s what does it for him. 

Leon lets himself go. Closes his eyes and drops his head back against the headrest, and he brings his hands up to grip his the back of his neck. “Raihan, I’m so tired,” he confesses. 

“I told you not to hold the battle today,” Raihan laughs hollowly. “But you’re an unstoppable force.”

“I’m so very stoppable,” Leon grinds out. “By Rose, by Eternatus, by the new Champion.” Leon lowers his hands and looks over at Raihan. “I…” he trails off. 

“Talk to me, mate,” Raihan urges. 

“I—,” Leon stops again, trying to figure out what he wants to say. Trying to pick apart how he’s feeling right now, but he’s always been as good with dealing with emotions as he is with directions. “I don’t know who I am anymore.” 

“Woah,” Raihan sucks in a breath at Leon’s words. “What do you mean? You’re Leon. Galar Champion.”

“But I’m not anymore,” Leon growls out, frustration suddenly bursting forth. “That’s all I was, so what am I now? Disappointment of Galar. That’s what it feels like.”

“You were always such a dramatic bitch,” Raihan rolls his eyes. “You know that, right?” There’s no malice in his voice. 

“Shut up,” Leon says, simmering. “Raihan, please, just. Just.”

“Just, what?”

Leon watches Raihan stand up and walk over to where he’s sitting. There isn’t a great deal of space, they’re both grown men, yet Raihan manages to slide onto the equipment that Leon already occupies. Eyes wide, Leon keeps his gaze on Raihan as the other man scoots forward so that Leon’s legs need to move back, spreading wider, to accommodate. Then Raihan places his hands on Leon’s knees, slips them so that they hold the sides of Leon’s thighs. He lifts Leon’s legs slightly so that Raihan’s own legs can move forward a little, and next thing Leon’s thighs are resting against Raihan’s knees, legs still spread and dangling. The position makes Leon’s breath hitch and before speeding up. 

“What are you doing,” Leon asks, voice hoarse. 

“I’m telling you that you’re Leon, you’re not just my rival, you’re more than that, you always have been,” Raihan looks into Leon’s eyes as he speaks. “You’re my best friend since we were in school, in the Gym Challenge, and as Gym Leader and Champion.”

“Rai,” Leon feels overwhelmed. After everything that’s happened within the last 24-hours, this terrifies Leon more than anything. 

Leon has always known, he really has, that at some point how he felt about Raihan shifted to something more than friendly. If Leon had to pinpoint it, it was the fourth time that the two of them battled in Raihan’s attempt to beat Leon after becoming Hammerlocke Gym Leader. Raihan had changed the weather in the stadium to bright sunshine, the heat beating down on them as Charizard took down Duraludon. Raihan had pulled off his headband with a laugh, throwing it off to the side as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. Leon was mesmerized by the way Raihan’s laugh sounded so pure, so joyful, even at losing, and then Leon’s eyes were stuck on the new piercing on Raihan’s ear and how it glinted in the light. He was beautiful. 

He’s still beautiful. Especially right now when sitting inches away from Leon. 

“Leon, please,” Raihan starts to ask softly. “Please, you’re better than you think, than you know, and now, let me show you.” 

“How,” Leon breathes out. 

“Can I?” Raihan asks. He reaches out and cups Leon’s face. His large hand holds Leon’s whole head practically, which makes him shiver in the other’s touch. 

“Yes,” Leon is only partially sure of what he’s agreeing to. 

Raihan moves closer, filling in the mere inches between them, and then they’re kissing. It’s soft, so very soft, and it makes Leon break into a million tiny pieces and feels like each of those pieces turns into Butterfree that fly away in every which direction. 

Leon grips onto the front of Raihan’s hoodie where it hangs open as if letting go meant Raihan would disappear. Raihan’s hands start kneading gently at Leon’s hips where he’s holding the former Champion. The feeling of those hands on Leon’s body sends waves of need through him. He wants Raihan now, in any way possible. He _needs_ Raihan closer, so Leon tugs harder on the hoodie to try and plaster himself on the other man. The clawing desire from Leon makes Raihan let out a sound of surprise, but he manages to kiss Leon back even harder and lets him continue to pull Raihan any which way. Raihan’s hand starts to smooth up and down his thigh, each slide gently moving further up and up his leg. Hazily, the thought that maybe Leon can convince Raihan to move them to the benches along the wall floats in his mind, and Leon thinks about how Raihan can most definitely carry him over there. That idea makes Leon moan into Raihan’s mouth.

When they pull apart, Leon takes a shuddering breath and hides his face in Raihan’s neck, suddenly overwhelmed by everything—Rose Tower, his loss, and Raihan. One of Raihan’s hands gently makes its way up from his hip to start slowly stroking his back in a soothing back and forth. There’s something about the quiet between them and the tender touch that cracks open the barely held together seams inside Leon right then, and his next breath comes out as a quiet almost-sob. 

“Leon…” Raihan threads his fingers with Leon’s hand, and the simple action does terrible things to Leon’s heart. “Come to Hammerlocke,” Raihan whispers. “Stay with me.” _Be with me._

Leon opens his mouth to say _yes, yes, yes,_ but what comes out instead is, “I need to go to Postwick.” A small frown appears on Raihan’s face, but it’s on the side of disappointment over anger. “I just need to be with my family for a while,” Leon explains, and that earns a nod from the other trainer. 

“Yeah, okay,” Raihan nods, moving forward to rest their foreheads against each other. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” Leon isn’t sure what he’s thanking Raihan for. For waiting for him? For being here for him? For being his rival and giving him battles that made it feel like he was soaring on Charizard and not on the field of a gym? Maybe all of these. 

Leon lets himself indulge in this for a while, being held by the man he’s definitely in love with, and it makes him realize that the eyes of the League won’t be on him anymore. He won’t have to follow their strict rules that have been over him since he was 10-years-old. The thought fills him both with a shiver of pleasure at the thought of this new freedom but also a touch of dread because does he even know how to be anything other than what the League made him?

“You’re so much more than that,” Raihan turns his head and says this into Leon’s neck, nose buried in the purple hair there. 

Leon hadn’t realized he spoke the fear out loud. He wants to argue with Raihan, refute the idea that there’s anything more to himself other than being Champion, let alone authentically Leon. He opens his mouth to do so, just barely parting his lips, but then Raihan pulls back enough to move out of Leon’s neck to look him in the face and leave a small, gentle kiss on his forehead. It’s overwhelmingly tender. “Thank you,” Leon whispers.

“Always, champ,” Raihan smiles, and Leon really adores that little fanged tooth so much, as well as the man that it is a part of.

Leon collapses back into Raihan, this time tucking himself into the other’s neck and breathing in the scent of dry heat and sand that’s always been so quintessentially Raihan. It’s the most comforting and grounding thing for Leon right now.

The sound of the elevator door opening makes the two of them jump. Leon whips his head around, but they’re too entangled in one another to be able to actually place any distance between them. There’s no way to hide or mistake what exactly the decade-long Galar Champion and Hammerlocke Gym Leader were doing.

One of the gym employees has come into the room, and even though he has sunglasses on, Leon is comfortably certain that the man’s eyes must be wide with surprise. 

“Hello,” Raihan addresses the man in his normal fairly cheerful voice.

“Oh, hi, um, Raihan, Leon,” he nods at the both of them, and the color from a blush starts to creep up his cheeks. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but League officials are here and wanted to speak with Leon. I was sent to inform you.”

“Thank you, I’ll be up,” Leon tells the man, and as soon as he has an answer, the gym employee nods again and turns on his heels to go back to the elevator. He sprints the short distance like his life depends on it.

Once the elevator doors close, Leon sighs and puts his forehead on one of Raihan’s shoulders. It knocks his hat askew. “Whatever they want is going to take a while.”

“I know, it’s okay,” Raihan smooths a hand down Leon’s back.

“I don’t know when I’ll get free time again before heading back to Postwick.”

“I’ll wait for you in Hammerlocke, then,” Raihan whispers into his ear, and that’s the best thing Leon’s heard all day. 

⊝⊝⊝

“Can you at least help?” Sonia asks. “If you’re going to be here, be productive.” She kicks Leon’s feet where they’re propped up on a lab chair.

“I’m being supportive, that’s helping,” Leon offers with a wide grin. Sonia rolls her eyes at him, unamused.

Three days ago Leon returned to Postwick, and he initially had plans to do nothing more than spend time with his family, and sleep. Maybe visit Sonia a few times at the Research Lab. Unfortunately, Galar didn’t calm down for him. Pokémon started to Dynamax all over the region in the gyms, and Leon had to put on his Champion smile and assure the people of Galar that it would be handled. The new Champion, Hop, Piers, and the other Gym Leaders got to work fast battling the rogue Pokémon, while Leon tracked down the supposed descendants from the kings of Galar. It all ended with Hop and his friend catching the two Legendary Pokémon. 

After that excitement, life did go back to the calm time between Postwick and Wedgehurst that Leon had been expected. Plus, he’s going to the Research Lab more often than he thought he would now that Hop is Sonia’s assistant. 

And then there’s Raihan, who Leon talks to. A lot. The dragon gym leader is notorious for how his Rotom Phone is always circling him for some reason or another—mainly selfies—but now with Leon sending little messages about his day and random pictures of Postwick, well, it seems Raihan is even more attached to the device. Sometimes Leon amuses himself by counting the seconds between sending a message and Raihan’s reply coming in.

“You’re just sitting there and texting Raihan,” Sonia yells over her shoulder as she walks away to go to where she has Hop looking up information in old books.

“How do you know?” Leon lets his feet fall to the floor.

“Please,” he can hear another eye roll in the tone of her voice. “I know you two.”

Hop perks up from where his head was crouched down reading. “Lee, I didn’t know you were so close to Raihan! That’s so cool!”

Sonia snorts and sends Leon an amused look. “Yeah, they’re very close.”

“Cool,” Hop repeats with wonder again. Thankfully, his brother is young and eager to learn, so his attention goes back to his work in the next second. Leon watches as Sonia sets Hop with some more tasks to accomplish, and then she walks back over to Leon and pulls the chair he had been using to prop his feet over next to him.

“So,” Sonia starts as she takes a seat. “You and Raihan, finally?” Leon told Sonia about what happened after the Championship match on his first night back in Postwick. She and her grandmother had come over to have dinner with Leon’s family, and the the two had taken an opportunity to take time to catch up on their own friendship.

“I guess so,” Leon replies with a shrug.

“What do you mean you guess?”

“I mean,” Leon takes a breath. “It’s not like we have a label on it. It’s not like we’ve really talked about...us.”

“Of course you haven’t,” Sonia sighs. “You both are so dumb and impossible sometimes, you know.”

“We’re not,” Leon frowns. 

“You really, really are,” Sonia replies. “You know that watching some of the last battles you two had against each other always felt just a little bit like we’re all witnessing something private?”

“How, everyone can watch the battles?” Leon asks, confused.

“This is what I mean by you’re dumb,” Sonia sounds annoyed.

“I don’t get it.”

“Fine,” Sonia leans over closer to Leon. “I’ll be blunt, do you love Raihan?”

“I love...battling Raihan,” Leon says slowly, unconvincing.

“Sure you do,” Sonia shrugs. “But, mate, you already told me what happened earlier this week. I don’t think you can do that and then not follow up. What have the two of you talked about since?”

Leon takes a moment to think. “Training. What we ate. He asked me to watch his livestreams of some training.”

“How are you on the phone with him so much and only ever talk about that?” Sonia’s jaw drops open slightly.

“We’re both very passionate about these things,” Leon tells her sincerely. “We both want to better the Pokémon Trainers in Galar, and we’ve been talking a lot about how we can do that. Raihan has the gym, and, well, I’m trying to figure out things for myself…”

It was just last night on the phone, Leon and Raihan lying on their beds in Postwick and Hammerlocke while video chatting on their Rotom’s that Leon admitted that he was a little at a loss now that he didn’t have the League telling him what to do. He no longer had the instructions of the League that served as his guidance for the last decade hanging over him, but what was he supposed to do now? 

“You can do anything you want,” Raihan said in the darkness. Leon yearned to be with him instead of stuck with his face on the small screen.

“What do you want for yourself?” Sonia asks Leon now.

“I want to figure that out.”

Sonia sighs. “And you will. You’re a good person, Leon. You’ve always looked out for everyone.”

⊝⊝⊝

Leon remembers when Hop was born. He was so excited to be the big brother who taught his sibling everything he knew in life, but for Leon that mostly just meant how to be a Pokémon Trainer. When their mother would be trying to get little Hop to sleep, Leon would sit beside her and listen to the way she’d softly hum and cradle the baby, and when Hop finally became peaceful with slumber, Leon would ask when he could start telling his little brother about Pokémon. Mum would laugh and pat his head, tell Leon to just work on his own training for now.

Being Champion and at the will of the League might have meant that Leon spent a significant part of his brother’s childhood away, but he always made time to talk to Hop about battling, training, and what all the other gyms are like that he’ll one day see when setting out on the Gym Challenge himself. There was always so much wonder in his eyes, and Leon thrived just a little off of the admiration his brother showered him in.

But now Hop’s seen everything, done everything—he might not have become Champion, but Hop has still gone even further than Leon ever did by finding what he wants as his place in the world to help Pokémon. The fact he caught one of the legendary Zacian and Zamazenta is just a Cherubi on top. 

Leon is so fiercely proud of his brother.

Right now they’re outside the house in the training area that’s been on their yard for as long as Leon can remember at this point, but they aren’t battling on it. Rather, Charizard and Zamazenta are playing together while Hop and Leon watch on, laughing. Leon is certain his brother can beat him now in a battle, but neither has asked the other to a match. It makes Leon wonder if Hop is doing it out of preserving some of Leon’s hurt pride right now, and the idea of that makes Leon thankful but also just a little on edge. 

“How did you decide to work with Sonia, again?” Leon asks as they watch Charizard boop Zamazenta on the nose with his tail. 

“I realized I wanted to help Pokémon after everything happened with Zacian and Zamazenta,” Hop repeats his explanation he’s told Leon a few times already. Leon keeps asking because he’s trying to figure out what he wants now as well, and he admires his brother’s ability to have found a place so quickly. “Lee, I have a question for you…” his voice becomes quieter as he speaks, as if skeptical of his own words.

“Sure.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.” It feels surprisingly freeing to say it out loud instead of having those three words rattling in his brain constantly as they have over the past few days over what to do.

“O-oh,” Hop looks at Leon with wide eyes, clearly taken aback by the admission. “But, you’re Champion, Lee,” his voice becomes less hesitant as he speaks. “You’ll figure it out, I know it.”

“I _was_ Champion,” Leon corrects with a wistful smile, crossing his arms. 

“Sure, you aren’t anymore, but, Lee, that doesn’t change that you were for ten years!” there’s an intensity behind Hop’s words, and he turns to look at Leon directly. “And when you were Champion, you helped people by inspiring them to become better trainers and to care for Pokémon and to just to strive harder in general! You did all that for me.” Hop’s hands are balled into fists and his eyes are blazing in what’s not a reflection of the flame on Charizard’s tail but rather the strength with which he believes in the words he’s saying.

Once again, Leon thinks about how proud he is of who his little brother has grown up to be. But also, a thought strikes him.

“You’re right,” Leon says softly and walks forward to put his arms around Hop in a tight hug. “Thank you for always being here for me, Hop. I wouldn’t be here without you, and I am so, so proud of you.”

Hop leans out of the hug to look up at Leon. “I didn’t do anything for you, Lee! It’s all you!”

Leon puts his hands on Hop’s shoulders and looks down at him. “Like you said, all I did was help, you made the right choices that got you to where you are today. But now, it’s time for me to listen to you to help _me_ make the next choices of my life.”

Hop beams. “I’m proud of you, Lee.”

⊝⊝⊝

“I thought of something,” Leon declares as soon as the call connects to Raihan.

“Hello to you, too,” Raihan smirks and leans back on his couch. Leon takes a second to appreciate the man through the screen of his Rotom before he tells Raihan his idea.

“I want to repurpose Rose Tower,” Leon starts to tell him. “I want to make it a place where trainers can better themselves and their skills outside of the gym challenge, as a way to train or to just battle. It’ll be a Battle Tower.”

Raihan straightens up in his slouch, and his eyebrows rise, clearly interested. “Battle Tower?”

“Yeah,” Leon never sat down when he started the call, and he lets his Rotom Phone hover and follows him as he paces his room and explains himself, talking about the ranked format he’s thought of for the battles and how they’ll operate. Rose Tower also allows for training with Dynamaxing Pokémon. It’s perfect.

When Leon finally finishes telling Raihan everything, he looks over at the Rotom to see Raihan smiling wide, that sharp tooth glinting through the screen. “You’ve really come up with something great, here,” he says.

“Do you think so? Do you think people will want to do it?” Leon is almost bouncing on his heels where he stands. 

“Yeah, of course,” Raihan nods. “And it’s run by the Champion of Galar? It’ll be amazing. And give me some more opportunities to battle you.”

Leon pouts and stands with his hand on a jutted hip. “I’m starting to think you only talk to me so you can battle me.”

Raihan gasps dramatically and clutches his chest. “Leon, how could you. I talk to you because you’re beautiful, get it right.”

Leon feels his cheeks heat. He’ll never _not_ blush over Raihan’s compliments. Over everyone else, no matter what adoration he gets from others, the praise from Raihan always makes Leon feel a little warm, adds a tiny hitch to his next breath. “Stop it,” is all Leon manages to put together to reply, looking away.

“Don’t hide from me, sweetheart,” Raihan says half in jest and half-seriously.

“I’m not,” Leon replies with defiance, turning back to look at Raihan through the phone and walking up to be closer to the screen. 

Raihan sighs and looks Leon up and down. “Will that mean you’ll be going to Wyndon soon?”

“Yeah,” Leon sits on his bed and takes the phone in his hand. “I’ll need to talk to people over there and the League to get everything squared away. From what Sonia has heard, they haven’t done anything to the Tower since that day.”

“Maybe I can take a day to come up and see you?” Raihan asks, and there’s an uncertainty to it, as if he’s looking for Leon’s permission and scared of what the answer will be.

“Actually,” Leon smirks. “I was thinking of stopping in Hammerlocke on my way and taking you with me.”

Raihan’s smile takes Leon’s breath away, he can only think about what it’ll be capable of when they’re reunited and in front of each other again. “When do you plan on coming by?”

“Next week, I need some more time in Postwick with my family. Just a bit,” Leon explains. “Think you can wait?”

“I can, sure,” Raihan keeps that wide grin on his face. “But can you?” He leans back on his couch again, and then rests a hand on his abdomen, right below where his shirt is riding up just a little bit. “We’ve got so much to catch up on.” Raihan gently pulls the shirt up a slightly more, barely exposing more of a sliver of his abs and the trail of hair.

Leon’s eyes follow the movement of Raihan’s hand creeping up. “That’s not fair.”

“It’s not fair that you look so good and are so far away,” Raihan replies, voice dipping low. It makes Leon shiver.

“I’d tell you to take a flying taxi down, but I don’t think we can do the things you want to in my house in Postwick,” Leon laughs and lays back on his bed.

“And what do you think I want to do?”

“You tell me.”

It’s a whole different type of challenge. Leon glances over at his door, making sure it’s locked, before fluffing the pillow behind him and making a show of getting comfortable. Raihan watches closely, and then Leon raises an eyebrow after he’s only been met with silence. 

“You comfy there, Champ?” Raihan asks. 

“Very,” Leon smiles lazily. 

“I’m going to make you feel even better,” Raihan declares. “If I was there I’d kiss you again, like I did in Wyndon. Hold you close.”

“So tame and romantic,” Leon jokes, but those simple words are already kindling a need within him to hear more from Raihan. It also only increases his yearning to be with the Gym Leader.

True to his word, Raihan talks to Leon listing every single thing he wants to do to the Champion when they’re finally together, and Leon moans and agrees to each word of it. When Raihan says he’s going to take Leon apart by riding him so slowly he’ll forget everything other than each other in bed, Leon comes hard and messily on his stomach and has to close his eyes at the sight of Raihan stroking himself faster on the screen. 

“Beautiful,” Raihan gasps, making Leon blush over the fact Raihan is talking about how Leon looks right now, flushed and covered in come. “I’m—” Raihan chokes, and Leon forces himself to open his eyes because he can’t miss the sight of Raihan gasping and arching back on his couch as he comes.

They clean up and stay on the phone after that, talking, drifting from topic to topic while repeating to each other about how they’ll be together soon. Leon falls asleep to the sound of Raihan laughing.

⊝⊝⊝

When Leon gets off the train at Hammerlocke Station, Raihan is there waiting for him. A small, childish part of him wants to go running at the other trainer just to see his reaction. Raihan could catch him, he’s sure. But instead, Leon walks up to him normally, very calmly, feeling his heart speed up with every step. It seems ridiculous to be getting nervous at the idea of spending time with Raihan given the past few weeks between them, but that short period of time held so many moments of desire and longing for the two of them. Leon thinks he might be a different person, just a bit, than the one he was when Raihan first kissed him in Wyndon’s Gym.

“Hey,” Raihan’s smile creeps across his face slowly, and he looks satisfied for some reason.

“Happy to see me?” Leon gives a playful punch to Raihan’s arm, and Raihan takes a loose hold of Leon’s wrist before he can retract it. There are people watching, they both know. It’s not like they can be in the train station as Champion and a Gym Leader while being inconspicuous about it. Leon vaguely thinks about what would happen if they wore disguises, but Raihan’s height and both of their hair would give them away immediately. 

“Incredibly,” Raihan whispers his reply and he pulls on Leon’s arm to bring them closer together. He keeps his eyes locked with Leon’s as he leans in but then goes to the side to place a soft kiss to Leon’s cheek.

“Oh,” Leon lets out a small gasp.

“I’ll get your bag,” Raihan says in the same low voice, and Leon doesn’t get a moment to process what happened before Raihan pries the duffle bag away from Leon’s free hand—his other has now been maneuvered by Raihan so the two of them are holding hands as they walk out of the station. As they walk, people yell out both their names in greeting. Raihan squeezes Leon’s hand. Once they’re out of the station and walking through Hammerlocke on their way to the Gym, Leon speaks again. “I have a quick surprise for you before we head to Wyndon.”

“I don’t think you’re that quick,” Leon jokes and nudges Raihan in his side with joined hands.

“It’s not that,” Raihan laughs and rolls his eyes.

“Then what is it?”

“A surprise.”

“Can I guess?” Leon asks excitedly.

“Sure, champ,” Raihan draws Leon close to him again and leaves a kiss in his hair near the back of his head, below his hat’s edge. Leon blushes in response to the open affection and immediately forgets about trying to guess. 

The walk is short, and Raihan brings Leon to a clothing store that he’s never been into before. When they enter, an employee excitedly greets them before ushering them in, past everything on display, into a back fitting room area. There’s a dress form set atop a short two-step platform that’s surrounded by mirrors, and on the dress form, there’s a red double-breasted jacket with a tail and beige pants. A shirt can just barely be seen sticking out from under the jacket because it’s mostly hidden by a white ruffled cravat. Tall boots rest at the bottom of the dress form. It’s a simple but beautiful outfit and Leon wonders who it’s for. He voices the question out loud.

“It’s for you,” Raihan nods towards the dress form.

“What?” Leon looks between Raihan and the clothes, confused. 

“It’s your surprise,” Raihan explains. “From me. You’ll need something new to wear at the Battle Tower you’re planning. Can’t keep going around in that sponsor cape forever, can you?”

“I guess not,” Leon says it but he doesn’t fully process his own words because he’s so fixated on the fact that Raihan bought him clothes. Yes, they’ve known each other for years, during which they’ve only gotten closer, but it’s still overwhelming to see tangible evidence of how much Raihan knows the details about Raihan’s likes and dislikes. The color is perfect; it resembles his cape. The clothes are the perfect step up from his Champion outfit, and Leon can’t wait to try them on.

“Go on,” Raihan places his hand on the small of Leon’s back and gives him a nudge forward. Leon uses that to move forward and take a moment to examine the clothes even closer. 

Leon turns to Raihan. “You did this?” 

Raihan shrugs and scratches the back of his neck sheepishly. He rocks on his heels as he speaks. “Well, I did put in a call to your mom to find out about sizing.”

“I’ll thank her, too, then,” Leon says as he runs a hand down the soft material. The store employee from earlier appears again and shows Leon to a fitting room where they bring the clothes to him. 

Leon is reckless with his own clothes, tugging them off quickly and haphazardly and tossing them onto the chair in the corner of the fitting room. But with the new clothes, he takes his time to pull them on with care. When everything is in place, he takes a step back from the small mirror and gives the cravat a final adjustment before going back to where Raihan and the person he learns is the tailor are waiting.

Raihan and the tailor are speaking with one another when Leon opens the door, but the sound of it clicking shut distracts them. They turn their heads towards Leon. Only one thing matters to Leon right now and that’s seeing how Raihan reacts, and he isn’t disappointed. Watching Raihan, Leon waits as the other’s eyes go wide for a moment before he mouths a quiet “wow.” Pleased at the response, Leon bites his lip gently, rolling his shoulders and tugging at the sleeves a little in a show of straightening himself up. 

The tailor dashes over to him. “One final detail.” Leon takes the hat from the tailor’s hand and gives a small bow of thanks.

The dress form has been moved away from the platform, leaving room for Leon to walk up and scrutinize himself in the mirrors. He cannot deny that he looks good, and Raihan’s reaction only backs that up further. In the mirror, Leon can see Raihan behind him watching as he does half-turns to examine himself and the outfit. 

“I think,” Leon begins slowly. “That all of this is...perfect. It embodies everything I want for the Battle Tower. Thank you both.”

At the compliment the tailor starts to buzz around Leon like a Ninjask, checking to make sure that everything looks and fits correctly. Once Leon thanks the tailor another hundred or so times, they also thank him and Raihan before leaving the two of them to wrap up. As soon as they’re alone, Raihan takes a step onto the platform and wraps his arms around Leon from the back.

“What do you think?” Raihan asks.

“You already know, I love it,” Leon replies with a huff at Raihan’s continued fishing for compliments. When Raihan rests his chin on Leon’s shoulder with a pout, he can’t help but turn his head slightly and give Raihan a small kiss that lands partially on the side of his head and partially on his headband. “Anyway, want to let me change so we can get your stuff and head to Wyndon, or do you have more surprises planned?”

“Nothing else,” Raihan smirks. “Unless you want to do something else here?” He wags his eyebrows suggestively, which makes Leon laugh at how ridiculous the man looks. Snorting, Leon pushes Raihan away, but when Raihan goes to take a step back, he misses that they’re on the platform and stumbles back. Quick reflexes make Leon swoop in and throw an arm around Raihan, catching him from falling. They pause after the moment of frenzy. Raihan has one foot on the ground and one half on the platform. He’s leaning back and would fall if Leon’s arm wasn’t wrapped around his back. The position has Leon standing higher than Raihan just slightly—a rare time that he’ll be taller than the other. 

Taking advantage of the height difference being in his favor for once, Leon leans down to kiss Raihan. His other hand comes to softly cup Raihan’s face. It’s an affectionate gesture with want only staved off because both of them know they have to leave here soon. 

“You look good,” Raihan murmurs when they part, their faces are still close and Leon can’t keep his eyes off Raihan’s lips. 

“Thanks,” Leon smirks. “I know.”

Raihan scoffs and pushes away from Leon, but he can see that Raihan is smiling when he turns his head away. “Ever the Champion, ever the best,” he says. 

Leon calls out Raihan’s name softly and he turns back around to look at Leon. “Thank you,” Leon doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to stop smiling, especially if his meeting in Wyndon about the Battle Tower goes well.

“Anything for you,” Raihan replies.

And later when they finally exit the store, Raihan still carrying Leon’s suitcase and now Leon with the addition of the garment bag draped over one arm, Leon thinks it’s the most natural thing to put his free arm around Raihan’s waist and draw him close as they walk to Hammerlocke Gym. 

⊝⊝⊝

For the duration of the train ride up to Wyndon, Sonia’s words linger in the back of Leon’s head about how he needs to talk to Raihan, to know that they’re on the same page. Leon thinks he’s reading things right so far between them and wishes he could just blissfully go along with what they’re doing, no discussion needed, but Leon also knows that not having that conversation could lead to a worse broken heart than with it. 

In the whirlwind of the day, though, Leon can’t bring himself to broach the subject. _After the meeting,_ he tells himself and then contents himself with playing with Raihan’s much larger hand, twining their fingers together between them as the two talk about the fine points Leon needs to make about the Battle Tower. It all feels so natural and makes Leon feel more confident in the fact that Raihan and he are something more now, that Raihan feels as strongly about him as he does about Raihan.

When they arrive at Wyndon, Leon realizes how close he planned the timings of the day when all he can do is quickly change and get ready for the meeting at Rose Tower in his and Raihan’s room at Rose of the Rondelands. Raihan pulls Leon into a slow, deep kiss at the door of the room before he leaves, whispering _good luck_ and _you’ll be brilliant_ against Leon’s lips. After a final quick peck, Leon keeps the promise that when he returns Raihan will be waiting for him no matter what close to his heart to help him get through the trip to Rose Tower.

Leon wears his new outfit to the meeting at Rose Tower, and he walks out of it as the leader of the newly rebranded Battle Tower. 

_He did it._

Someone asks Leon if he wants to take a flying taxi back to the hotel, and he shouts, “No, thank you!” at them as he runs back to the hotel instead. He feels fueled by ideas of the future. So much is swirling in his head about what lies ahead of him with the Battle Tower, how it’ll help the trainers of Galar grows stronger. But the first thing on his mind to get to is back at the hotel. Leon thinks about sending a message to Raihan about the meeting and how he’s on the way, but the idea of bursting into their room and striking his Champion pose to break the news just sounds so much more _fun_ for Leon. 

Except Raihan does something to surprise Leon, making him trip over his feet when he enters the hotel room finally. He’s not even out of breath from running, and he’d been practically bouncing off the elevator walls on the short ride up, but the sight of Raihan sprawled naked on the bed feels like the shockwave of an electric type move. The awe propels Leon forward until he stands at the foot of the bed, looming over Raihan. Leon lets himself drink in the sight of smooth muscle and flawless skin, the way Raihan’s hair falls freely without the band keeping it in place, all there for him to explore, and then that perfect line of hair that leads to where—

“You’re hard,” Leon’s voice is low, and it’s the only thing he can think of to say right now. He feels struck dumb by a naked and wanting Raihan in front of him rather than partially undressed on his phone’s screen.

“Was lying here thinking about you,” Raihan smirks. He’s propped up with his elbows behind him, but he lets go of that support on one arm to slowly drag a hand down his abs until he takes a hold of himself and gives a lazy stroke. It makes Leon drop to his knees, and Raihan gasps. Is it because of the slow way he’s working himself or at the sight of Leon easily kneeling? Leon’s not sure, and he doesn’t care.

Leon watches the movement of Raihan’s hand, mesmerized, and he wants that to be him, to be Leon causing Raihan to gently bite his lip. He finally touches Raihan. His legs are half-dangling off the end of the bed, and Leon gives a tentative glide of a single finger down Raihan’s calf. Even under that light caress, Raihan shivers. Then Leon takes a full hold of Raihan’s legs below the knees and yanks, pulling him further down the bed. Raihan gasps and swears in response to Leon’s slight manhandling. “Leon,” the way Raihan’s voice says his name is even better than the way he said it over the phone when Leon would talk to him about every single thing he wanted to do to Raihan when they were finally together. All of this already feels better than Leon thought it would.

“Raihan, you’ve been taking care of me,” Leon looks into Raihan’s eyes as he speaks. He’s propped himself up on one elbow again, looking down at Leon. “I wanna take care of you.” Leon takes his hat off and sets it at the edge of the bed.

“Leon,” Raihan says his name in the same tone again, and it’s the greatest thing he’s ever heard. Leon closes his eyes briefly to collect himself.

“Just let me,” that’s the last thing he says before finally putting his hand around Raihan and giving him a few strokes. “Please,” Leon’s mouth is hovering just so close, breathing over Raihan. 

“Yeah,” Raihan breathes out, and that’s all Leon wants to hear before he gives Raihan’s length a long lick from base to tip and then sucks the tip into his mouth. Raihan cries out above him on the bed and falls back, lying down with an arm flung across his face. “Fuck.”

Leon smirks around Raihan even though the other can’t see him and follows by slowly takes more and more into his mouth before pulling back as slowly. Each time he takes a little more in, and Leon can feel Raihan shaking under his hands where he’s holding the other’s thighs. When Leon finally takes all of Raihan as he can, hitting the back of his throat, he uses his hand to stroke what he can’t get, and the realization of how big the other man is makes Leon twitch. He’s so hard himself but has been so focused on Raihan that he isn’t aware of how constrictive his pants feel. 

Keeping his eyes closed, Leon keeps a steady pace going. Raihan rests a hand on Leon’s head to run his fingers through the long strands of Leon’s hair, and the effect is calming on Leon. He moans around Raihan and opens his eyes, looking up and finding that Raihan has a half-lidded look locked on him. While keeping their gazes held, Leon takes Raihan all the way down again, and this time when he feels Raihan hit his throat, he watches as Raihan’s mouth falls open and his head drops back, his throat offered up if only Leon could have his mouth in two places at once. Leon stays in that position for as long as he can handle before pulling off completely to take some deep breaths. 

“Come up here,” Raihan says and pats the space on the bed next to him.

“You want me to stop?” Leon asks feigning innocence as he wraps a hand around Raihan and begins to stroke. 

“I don’t want you to, but we need to,” Raihan sounds like it’s taking all the effort he has to speak and to not come, and that makes Leon preen, satisfied by his effect on Raihan.

Leon lets go of Raihan and stands up, and Raihan tracks the movement with his eyes. “Okay,” Leon nods at Raihan.

“First, I think you are wearing too many clothes, and, anyway, you can’t get these dirty, except,” Raihan lowers his stare, and Leon blushes, knowing that his arousal is clear through the pants. “Maybe they’re already dirty.”

Leon composes himself and shrugs before he starts the process of stripping down in front of Raihan. He makes a show of it, unbuttoning every clasp with care and precision. His body screams to hurry up already so he can slide his naked body next to Raihan’s, but he also wants to take his time here and maybe unwrap himself a little like a present to Raihan. Going the extra mile to add both to his own and Raihan’s frustration, Leon walks over to the closet in the room and hangs up each piece of clothing. When he turns to do this, he can feel Raihan’s stare burning into him.

Finally, he crawls onto the large bed and lies on top of Raihan. “So, that was first,” Leon murmurs, leaning down to kiss Raihan lightly, but then he keeps going back for more quick kisses, which eventually turns into Raihan wrapping his arms around him and the two of them deepening a kiss as their hands roam and hold close. Eventually, Raihan pulls away.

“Second, I want to tell you something,” Raihan brushes a strand of hair away from Leon’s face. He doesn’t know what to say, so Leon simply nods in indication for the other to go on. “I’m proud of you. I’ve always admired you, as a trainer, as Champion, as a brother to Hop, and as someone trying to help the people of Galar. I knew before you even stepped foot into that meeting you’d come out of it successful.”

“What if I didn’t?” Leon jokes in a defensive reaction to hearing Raihan shower him with any type of praise. He hasn’t actually told Raihan about the outcome of the meeting, but maybe it was obvious.

“Well, then this would be me consoling you instead of celebrating,” Raihan chuckles. “But the point is, you’re brilliant, you know that?”

“I love you,” it’s all Leon’s brain can think of to reply with, and it’s not a lie. It’s true, Leon knows this more than anything else right now, that no matter what Raihan might say, Leon is in love with him.

“Oh,” Raihan’s eyes go wide, and Leon worries that was the wrong thing to say, but before he has a chance to add anything else to Raihan, the gym leader flips them so Leon’s back is on the bed and Raihan hovers over him. “I’ve loved you for so long,” Raihan breathes and dives in for another kiss. This time when their lips meet, Leon opens his mouth right away, moving them to a more frenzied kiss than any other that they’ve shared so far. 

Raihan pulls Leon close so that he can slide a thigh between Leon’s legs and starts grinding. Leon gasps into Raihan’s mouth as he rubs himself against Raihan’s abs and feels Raihan on him. It’s slow and cautious compared to the way that they’re kissing. “Can I make you come?” Raihan whispers like some gentleman in the middle of what they’re doing.

“Yeah, yeah,” Leon chokes out as they continue to move against each other, every drag of skin against skin is slightly easier and feels even better. “I wanted to fuck you, though,” Leon confesses.

Raihan makes a pleased sound. “You will,” he says. “Later, and then I’ll fuck you, and then we can keep doing this over and over, how’s that sound, huh?” Raihan asks. Leon knows he means going, again and again, refers to the fact they have this hotel room for a week, but Leon also knows that Raihan likely also means forever because they’re in love and can finally, finally, have each other in every way that they have thought and dreamt about for years.

“So good, Raihan, don’t stop, please,” Leon moans and catches Raihan’s mouth with his, needing to feel their tongue follow the same movement as their bodies. 

“I won’t,” Raihan gasps. “Never.” Raihan takes them both in hand, and Leon throws one of his legs around Raihan to haul him closer that way. Leon knows he starts babbling nonsense, mostly pleas with Raihan’s name dropped in the closer he feels to coming. “Come on,” Raihan urges, and the inability to deny Raihan of anything propels Leon forward, throwing his head back and crying out the other’s name as he comes.

Leon becomes aware of Raihan peppering his face with kisses and murmuring beautiful over and over, and he can’t believe the gym leader hasn’t come yet as well. “Rai,” Leon’s voice cracks. He holds Raihan’s face in his hand, pulling their mouth together. When Leon slides his tongue into Raihan’s mouth, Raihan takes a sharp breath through his nose and then opens his mouth in a moan. Leon feels him come between them, grinding into the area where Leon’s leg and hip meet. 

They share slow kisses before collapsing back onto the bed, and Leon pulls Raihan into his arms, tucking Raihan’s head under his chin. “This is nice,” Raihan whispers, exhaustion lacing his voice.

“Mhmm,” Leon agrees. “Nice.”

“So, what’s your title now?” Raihan asks. “Battle Tower Leader?”

“I don’t know,” Leon replies. “I don’t think I need any more titles.”

“I have a really good one for you though,” Raihan pulls back a little and Leon does the same so they can look at each other.

“What?”

“Boyfriend of the Hammerlocke Gym Leader, duh,” Raihan starts to snicker at Leon’s jaw dropping at the statement. 

“You’re such a shit,” Leon snaps his mouth shut and grabs a pillow to hit Raihan on the head with.

“But you love me,” Raihan catches the pillow in a hand and tosses it off the bed. Leon vaguely notices that it knocks his hat off the bed in the process and wonders if he should do anything about it. He doesn’t.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Leon sighs. “How unfortunate.”

Raihan smiles and rubs his thumb across Leon’s bottom lip. “We’ll figure everything out.”

“Yeah,” Leon smiles, sticking his tongue out to lick the tip of Raihan’s thumb. “We will.” 

There was one thing Leon knew when he woke up in Wyndon Hospital after being defeated by Eternatus, and that was the importance of the man in his arms to him. Now, Leon knows one more thing for sure, everything may not alright yet—he’s fine with that—but things are sliding into place so Leon can finally just live.

**Author's Note:**

> can be found: [twitter](https://twitter.com/pushclouds)


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